A lack of primary school places has left the education system in the UK at crisis point.

That is according to Professor John Howson, senior research fellow at Oxford University, who warned that the dearth of places represents the biggest challenge facing the school system.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he explained: "The last government was fixated on rebuilding every secondary school when it should have been diverting some of that money into building places in the primary sector."

Professor Howson warned that population expansion is set to put an even greater strain on the school system over the coming years and has, therefore, called on the government to address the issue.

To this end, the coalition has revealed that it is to invest £4 billion over the next four years to create additional school places, which may lead to the creation of new teaching jobs.

In some instances, though, parents are having to move homes just to ensure that their child is able to secure a place in a good school.